When the Operator of a Ski Resort is Liable for Accidents
"When you buy a lift ticket, you enter into a transport contract with the cable car company. However, this not only imposes transport obligations on the lift operator or slope holder, but also protection and due diligence obligations," says ÖAMTC legal expert Nikolaus Authried.
No Claims for Damages Against Ski Area Operators for Self-Inflicted Falls
Authried, head of the ÖAMTC legal advice in Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland, added that skiers and snowboarders cannot claim damages for falls that are entirely their own fault. This includes, among other things, falls and collisions due to excessive speed or a disregard of the slope rules - for example, a violation of right of way.
For winter sports enthusiasts who encounter obstacles that they do not have to expect or that are difficult to avoid, different rules apply: "Branches lying around on the slope, sudden holes in the snow, insufficiently covered lift supports, exposed hoses from snow cannons or inadequate to missing catch fences at critical points - all these are so-called 'atypical' dangers that slope and lift operators must definitely eliminate or secure," emphasized Authried. "If skiers and snowboarders injure themselves due to such obstacles, the slope holder is liable - even for slight negligence."
Ski Area Operator Must Ensure Correct Signage of Slopes
These rules also include protection against avalanches on all official routes in the ski area. According to case law, these safety obligations can also apply beyond the actual edge of the slope - namely when slope holders must specifically assume that skiers will ski out and back in at the relevant points. "Incorrectly signposted slopes, i.e. if the difficulty level of descents is not indicated in accordance with reality, can also result in liability for the ski area," added the expert. Trees at the edges of slopes, however, are classified as "typical" dangers, and liability of the slope holder is largely excluded in accidents in this context.
The official operating hours are decisive for strict liability of the slope holder: Accidents on inadequately secured slopes outside operating hours - such as late descents - result in significantly reduced liability for the slope holder. Winter sports enthusiasts who stay on a hut until late in the evening and only descend after the slope closure must expect maintenance work and snow groomers. They are therefore required to exercise "special caution". If this increased duty of care is disregarded and an accident occurs in this context, the person concerned is regularly assumed to be partly at fault by case law.
(APA/Red)
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